This rice bowl is packed with hearty grains, crisp vegetables and lean protein! The Greek marinade also doubles as a dressing, making it easy to make!
Perfect for meal prep, make ahead lunches, or a wholesome dinner, this is a rice bowl that packs some serious Greek flavors! Â Rice, lean chicken thighs, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, Feta cheese, red onion and hummus… plus a Greek marinade for the chicken that doubles as a dressing!
This delicious post is sponsored by Minute Ready to Serve Family Bowls.
Do you guys struggle with what to make for lunch? Â I do! Â Most of the time I eat whatever I shot that day for the blog (which is a pretty awesome gig!), but on the days where I didn’t do any photoshoot, I struggle. Â Leftovers are always in our fridge, but most of the time, I’m not feeling like eating the same thing for lunch that we just had for dinner the night before. Â Sound familiar?
So what’s a gal to do? Â I’m so loving the quick meals these days that when I developed this recipe for the blog, I originally had it pegged for a dinner meal… but the more I started thinking about it, it cooks quickly enough, it could easily be a lunch!
Then that got me thinking… MEAL PREP!!! Â If you’re not a meal prepper, no worries, this rice bowl comes together in about 20 minutes (even less if you’ve chopped things ahead of time), so you can easily make it and enjoy it in half an hour. Â Usually, rice, takes a while to cook (sometimes even longer than the whole cook time for this meal!), which is why on a busy weeknight, I usually forgo rice at all.
That’s all changed now!  Minute® Ready to Serve Family Bowls are SO convenient!  They contain no preservatives, are gluten free, and also come in a 100% brown rice variety.  I love how easy they are to make… just remove the film, and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Seriously simple, which is exactly what busy families need!
Rice bowls are such a fun idea for a weeknight dinner (or lunch!), because each family member can choose what they want in their bowl. Â The 16 oz. bowls provide 3-4 servings. Â I don’t know about you, but with picky kids, this is a lifesaver! Â My son, who just turned 4, would literally just eat a bowl full of rice if we let him… he’s obsessed!
I mentioned how quickly this meal comes together, but the other part I love is that cleanup is a breeze! Â Since the Minute family bowls cook in their own container, the only dish you really need to wash is the skillet where you cook your chicken. Â Isn’t that the best?!
Plus, you can easily prep some of this meal ahead of time, which means it will take 10 minutes to cook this meal!
Prep Ahead Tips:
- Slice up cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and olives ahead of time, and keep refrigerated in airtight containers (I like to use a separate container for each veggie type, so they don’t get mushy)
- Make the marinade/dressing ahead of time and keep chicken marinating (with reserved dressing in an airtight container)
- If making your own hummus (this one is my favorite!), make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator
The next crazy weeknight, instead of reaching for the takeout menus, whip up this Greek Chicken Rice Bowl instead…. it’s wholesome, hearty, plus, it’s EASY thanks to Minute Ready to Serve Family Bowls!
If you’re into the meal prep thing, check out the recipe notes section below for my tips!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute® Ready to Serve Family Bowls.
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Ingredients
GREEK MARINADE/DRESSING:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 1-2 lemons)
- 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp minced garlic (or garlic paste)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
RICE BOWL:
- 8-12 boneless skinless chicken thighs (can also use chicken breasts)
- 2 cups chopped seedless cucumbers
- 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese optional but recommended
- hummus (I highly recommend this roasted garlic version)
- 2 Minute Ready to Serve Family Bowls white rice
Instructions
PREPARE DRESSING:
- To a small mixing bowl, add dressing ingredients and whisk to combine well. Save 1/2 of the dressing (about 1/4 cup) in an airtight container to use later as a dressing.
RICE BOWL:
- Add remainder of dressing to a large resealable plastic bag with chicken thighs. Close bag and massage marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for several hours if desired.
- Heat a large skillet over MED-HIGH heat and drizzle a bit of olive oil into the skillet. Pat chicken thighs with a paper towel to remove excess marinade and cook chicken, about 4-5 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through.
- Remove chicken to a plate to rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Chop cucumber, onion, tomatoes, and olives and set aside.
- Microwave rice bowls according to package directions and divide evenly among 4 bowls.
- To each bowl, add some of the feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and olives. Add a dollop of hummus to the bowls and add 2-3 chicken thighs per bowl.
- Serve with whole grain pita or flatbread if desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- Prepare recipe as directed.
- Line up containers and assemble bowl with rice on the bottom, then chicken thighs and cucumber, tomato, onion and olives. Â
- Place a portion of feta cheese, hummus and Greek dressing into 3 separate small condiment containers with lids.
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Jamie says
This was the first recipe that we tried of yours and absolutely loved it. My sister came across it I think via pinterest, most likely. We’ve made it a few times and really like it. So simple and delicious!
Your page is more and more becoming our go-to for recipes, especially when we are feeling otherwise uninspired.
Ann says
Can you provide the weight of the chicken? 8-12 chicken thighs in my neck of the woods would be like 3-4 pounds and way more than 4 servings. Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
There’s no specific weight needed, just however many chicken thighs you want to use 🙂 Also the serving number is just a suggestion, so feel free to serve to more people if you’d like.
Morgan Morrissette says
Made this recipe for lunch and it turned out great! I give it 5 stars! This recipe makes eating the Mediterranean Diet easy!
Vanessa says
Was pretty wowed at how delicious these tasted. The marinade / dressing was perfect and kept the chicken incredibly moist. The dollop of hummus isn’t something I would have thought of doing, but so glad it was recommended because it definitely gave it a great additional flavor. We ended up grilling the chicken, because we’re grill addicts, but I will definitely be using this recipe again.